


hold me back, I don't wanna be a drag

by shinealightonme



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Caught having Sex, Humor, M/M, POV Outsider, Relationship Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 11:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24848830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightonme/pseuds/shinealightonme
Summary: Gansey doesn't know why Adam and Ronan have been fighting so much lately, but (un)fortunately, he's determined to help.
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 59
Kudos: 764





	hold me back, I don't wanna be a drag

**Author's Note:**

> Written for an anon on tumblr who prompted an AU where Gansey walks in on Ronan and Adam having sex and is "The Most Gansey" about it. I interpreted "The Most Gansey" as "flustered, obtuse, and possessed of good intentions for which he gets zero credit."

Gansey is beginning to think the AirBnB was a mistake.

He'd started having doubts as soon as he'd shared the vacation plan. Blue asked if he cared about AirBnB's dubious business practices or their negative impact on local housing markets. Henry had said, in his most extravagant voice, that _he_ didn't care because he wanted to live like a prince for a week. Adam had taken exception to this, either because he was irritated with Henry for his attitude or with Blue for her turning a blind eye to Henry's attitude when she rarely extended anyone else that courtesy; he had snidely asked if that was so different from how Henry normally lived. Ronan, for unknown reasons of his own, had told Adam _we don't all have to be miserable just because you are_ , and by the end of the conversation no one had much of anything to say to each other.

No concrete suggestions were put forth for alternative vacation bookings, so Gansey kept his original reservation. Blue and Henry dropped the argument once they checked into their rental on the grounds that the matter was resolved, but Ronan and Adam refused to let it go. At this point, the argument is no longer truly about the AirBnB; Gansey wonders if they know what they _are_ fighting about. He certainly doesn't.

There had been a lot of arguments like that lately. Ronan was lashing out at Adam about _everything_ , more persistently belligerent than he'd been with any of his friends in years. And Adam, for his part, wasn't letting it go the way that they'd all learned to do on occasion, giving Ronan some leeway. That morning they'd managed to feud so extensively over what restaurant to go to for brunch that neither of them had _gone_ to brunch, in the end.

So, while he acknowledges that the AirBnB is not responsible for his friends' behavior, Gansey has his regrets. In a hotel they wouldn't all be sharing a living room and a kitchen and 3.5 bathrooms. Adam and Ronan could get some space from each other. At the very least, Gansey could get some space from both of them.

He indulges himself with a few hours on the deck, reading a collection of essays by Joan Didion and enjoying the house's waterfront view, but unease settles over him as the afternoon stretches on. Here he is, fixating on the inconvenience that the situation causes _him,_ instead of on the hurt and upset that it is undoubtedly causing the two of them. No one argues from a place of joy -- well, sometimes Ronan fights with people for fun, but Gansey has enough examples to draw on to know that this is not one such occasion. His friends are unhappy; surely that's more important than his comfort.

He sets his book down on the deck chair and returns to the house.

There's no response when he knocks on Adam's door. He continues on to Ronan's room; that may be the best place to start an inquiry, after all. Ronan is unlikely to give a substantial answer to the question _what's gotten into you and can I help_ , but Adam is unlikely to engage at _all_ if Gansey doesn't give him a reason to. Ronan may let something small slip that he can use to prise a degree of cooperation out of Adam.

He finds Ronan's door open a crack.

Gansey pauses. Ronan is vigilant about maintaining his privacy. It isn't like him to leave the door ajar even if he is absent -- which he isn't, because as Gansey steps closer, he hears Ronan's voice.

"Something you want to say, Parrish?"

"Let go of me, Lynch." There's an odd quality in his words that Gansey cannot quite place. He doesn't sound angry, but for Adam, that means very little; he can feel rather strongly without putting it on display. And if Ronan has actually _laid a hand_ on him then Gansey wouldn't expect him to feel otherwise. He's appalled, himself.

"Make me," Ronan says, a challenge which Gansey decides to rise to.

He still doesn't know what Ronan and Adam are arguing about, either the trivial or the consequential. He'd rather know before attempting to mediate, but this isn't going to get any better if he lets them go another round first. Tempers are high; the matter, whatever it is, clearly provokes a great deal of passion.

He opens the door and strides in. "Lynch, I -- "

He stops.

The scene that meets his eyes is certainly passionate, but Ronan and Adam are not arguing. They are displaying a remarkable level of affection given the last several days of discord. Ronan has not, as he was requested to, let go of Adam, but Adam is making no great attempt to remedy the situation. By all appearances he is quite pleased with his circumstances -- or he was until Gansey appeared on the scene.

The three of them freeze where they stand -- or lie -- and then, in a swift and unconventional act of chivalry, Ronan shoves Adam off of the bed and out of Gansey's line of sight.

"Get out."

"Uh, yes," Gansey says, well aware of the fact that he's floundering. "Sorry, I just came to -- " he chastises himself for his word choice. "I -- I'll see you -- er -- "

" _Out_."

Gansey shows himself out.

He wanders downstairs, to the living room with its plush carpeting and its picture window and its recessed bookcases. He takes no relief from the amenities, and only slight relief from the company of Henry and Blue, sprawled out together on the massive couch.

"Are you okay, Gansey?" Blue asks.

Henry _hm_ s at him thoughtfully. "Yes, Gansey-man, what's the matter? You look like how I felt when Gigi Goode won the Madonna challenge on Drag Race."

"I'm fine," Gansey says to both of them, and to himself. "I'm -- rattled. That's all."

"Aw, you poor thing," Blue says, without a noticeable degree of sympathy. "Did Oscar Wilde write a scary letter?"

"I finished reading Wilde's letters yesterday," he tells her. "And no. I've just -- acquired an unexpected piece of information."

"Oh?" Henry says, with salacious and unfortunate interest. "Don't make us beg."

"It isn't my place to tell."

"Boo."

"Yeah, ethics, so boring," Blue says, somehow managing to mock both of them equally.

" _Exactement_!" Henry beams at her. "You understand me, Blue."

"The good news is," she continues, her mirth now pointed in one unambiguous direction. "Gansey's not that mysterious."

"By all means, then," Henry says. "Do read that open book."

Blue taps her chin with one finger, deep in exaggerated thought. "It has to be a _secret_ about someone, if he feels like he can't tell us."

Henry picks up right where she leaves off. "And since he, like the grandfather he secretly is, mistakenly believes that you should ignore your cell phone on vacation, it must be about someone in this house." Gansey feels his small amount of relief ebbing away, leaving in its place a mounting horror. "Love, do _you_ have some scandalous piece of news that you haven't told me?"

She pretends to consider this. "No. And I know _you_ don't have a secret, because you wouldn't keep it from me -- "

"Never," Henry promises.

"So it has to be about Adam or Ronan."

"Or Adam _and_ Ronan," Henry concludes lasciviously. Gansey's stomach sinks through the floor and into the wine cellar.

The aforementioned twosome chooses that moment to enter the room -- fully clothed, although Gansey notes that Adam's shirt is buttoned haphazardly, as though he'd been rushed, or agitated, when he'd dressed. Gansey feels guilty about that, and then he feels guilty about having considered Adam's getting dressed at all.

"In the words of The Lonely Island," Henry tells them, "congrats on the sex." 

Adam and Ronan both immediately glare at Gansey.

"It isn't enough for you to interrupt," Adam asks scathingly, "you had to _share_?"

"I didn't say anything!" Gansey turns on Henry. "How did you even know?"

Henry shrugs. "I was guessing, but I am thrilled to be proved right."

Ronan is not assuaged. "What the _fuck_ , Dick."

"This isn't my fault! I can't be held responsible for Henry's intuition."

"You saw parts of me today that you never should have seen," Adam says. "I'm going to go ahead and _hold you responsible_."

Henry gasps with mock theatricality and raises his eyebrows at Gansey. "How much did you see?"

"This is not a helpful line of inquiry."

"Is Parrish hung?"

"I'm not going to answer that!"

"Oh, of course, of course." He drops his voice to a stage whisper. "Cough twice if he's hung."

Ronan coughs twice, loudly. It gets him a frown from Adam and a request for a high five from Henry, whom he uncharacteristically indulges. Adam is merciless enough to cover for his leniency, though; he glares more undeserved daggers in Gansey's direction.

"So what's the story," Blue asks, "are you two dating now?"

Adam's eyes flick over to Ronan for the briefest moment. "Yes."

"How long have you been together?" Gansey asks, ignoring when Henry laughs at the words _how long_.

"Why does that matter?" Adam asks, pure ice.

"It...doesn't. I'm simply curious."

"I can only forfeit so much privacy in one day. I'd _rather_ have just talked to you, but you made your choice when you walked in on us."

Ronan snorts. "Yeah, you can see Parrish's dick _or_ know our anniversary, pick one."

"Is this an opportunity we're being given as a group or as individuals," Henry starts, "because -- "

"A group," Adam interrupts. "The choice has been made."

"I didn't make a choice," Gansey sighs, to no effect. "No conscious decision was involved."

Blue pats him on the head, but it's a small consolation. He wishes he'd stayed out on the deck with Joan Didion.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this fic, you can [reblog it on tumblr](https://toast-the-unknowing.tumblr.com/post/621578048513458176/hold-me-back-i-dont-wanna-be-a-drag).


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